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Tens of thousands of people fleeing violence on the North-South Sudan border are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and protection says children’s charity Plan International.
Northern Sudanese troops took over the oil-rich Abyei region last weekend.
The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) estimates that 150,000 people have been displaced.
“We are seeing a large number of displaced people arriving in Aweil and surrounding areas”, says Fikru Abebe, Plan International’s Director in Southern Sudan.
“Children fleeing violence, such as that in Abyei, can often become separated from their families and they are especially vulnerable to sexual violence. They also run the risk of being recruited as child soldiers.”
Southern Sudan is set to become the world’s newest country on July 9 but some experts say this fresh crisis could rekindle the civil war with the North.
The 22 year conflict - which killed two million people and displaced double that number - ended with a peace deal in 2005.
A vote on the future of Abyei was scheduled to take place alongside the South’s independence referendum in January but has since been indefinitely postponed.
The area is claimed by both the North and the South.
“We will be scaling up our emergency response to meet the needs of this new influx but it is both difficult and dangerous to reach many of those displaced by the fighting in Abyei – especially as we are in the middle of the major rainy season,” adds Mr. Abebe
Plan Southern Sudan is appealing for funds to help address the crisis.
“We are raising money to help us get food, clean water, education, shelter and protection to those who need it, as quickly as possible. Our primary concern is the welfare and safety of children and their families,” says Mr. Abebe.
To donate to Plan’s emergency appeal for South Sudan please go to www.plan-international.org
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Rose Foley
Media Relations Officer
Plan UK | www.plan-uk.org
Direct Line: 0203 217 0257 | Switchboard: 0300 777 9777 / +44 (0)20 7608 1311 (Non-UK) | Mobile: 07964 296 431 | Skype: rose_planUK | Address: Finsgate 5-7 Cranwood Street, London EC1V 9LH
